Yuyuan Garden commercial area attracts about 40 million tourists every year, but its cheap commodities, monotonous tourism products, the aging public service facilities, and outdated service of some old restaurants there leave much to be desired. Now, things are about to change.

Xu Xiaoliang, chairman of the board of Shanghai Yuyuan (Group) Co Ltd, said the urban renovation 25 years ago in the city has made what Yuyuan is like today. Now, Yuyuan Tourist Mart has started a new round of upgrading and renovation to advance the second phase of comprehensive development plan.

The renovation will upgrade the Old Yuyuan Garden, remodel the walk paths in the garden, and build hanging Yuyuan Garden, so as to create another Shanghai's icon of culture, service, and shopping, said Xu.

The must-go spots in Yuyuan Garden are some old brands, such as Lv Bolang, Nanxiang Streamed Buns, and Hubin Restaurant. The problem with these restaurants is that the facilities and interior of those restaurants are decrepit, so the dining experience is not so good.

The key renovation involves the restaurants at the periphery of the Zigzag Bridge, and the Zigzag Bridge plaza, which will be the core area to be extended to Wenchang Road and the Yuyuan Garden Old Road. They will be built into food streets. Also, more time-honored brands will be introduced, including online celebrated food.

The walk paths in Yuyuan Garden will also be remodeled, and be combined with China's and Shanghai's traditional and cultural entertainment, and the tourist flow will be optimized to grant them more time to enjoy themselves.

Huabao Tower, as a well-known flea market in Shanghai, is also undergoing renovation. It will have more cultural themed overall renewal, traditional crafts, books, cultural products, tea, coffee, and even seminars on culture.

Yuyuan Garden will also have more traditional operas, for when the garden was built by Pan Yunduan in 1559, he used the garden as his private theater. In 2015, Yuyuan Group initiated the renovation of Haishang Liyuan, the traditional opera's theater.
Because of the unique characteristics of the garden, some international brands such as LV even chose to launch its new product in the theater. In the future, the theater will hold more operas with more modern elements.

In the second phase renovation planning, the physical space of the garden will extend westward from the Yuyuan Garden Mart to border on Shanghai Xintiandi in Huaihai Road, thus forming an integrated function cluster of culture, arts, entertainment, shopping, finance, and natural scenery with the Bund Finance Center and the Fosun Art Center.